I try to avoid polyester, but that’s been increasingly difficult lately. I’ve noticed polyester napkins creeping up at restaurants all across the county, a trend I wish would stop.
Oh, sure, I get it. Restaurants want to appear upscale, and one way to create that impression is to use cloth napkins. Polyester costs less to mai

Full-fat yogurt is a game changer.
Thicker, creamier and more alluring, its luxurious texture and flavor enable it to masquerade as ice cream or sour cream, the plain, unflavored style edging out more complicated, savory toppings on dishes such as couscous, pureed soups or spicy braised chicken. Yogurt-based marinades make meat tender an

One of the concessions at the main beach in Corona del Mar recently got a makeover – and a chef.
It’s called Tackle Box. It’s an old building that’s been around forever, but this is probably the first time a real chef has ever stepped into the kitchen.
It’s Brian Huskey, who has worked at Leatherby&r

Her little face will be with me forever. So will her spirit.
Jitter, my one-in-a-million little dog, has been gone for over three months, but I carry her everywhere – literally and figuratively. Her face looks at me every time I use my cellphone. Her picture welcomes me every morning when I wake up – several of her pictures,

At the beginning of summer, our dog, Paco, died. One day he didn’t want to eat, and the next he struggled for breath, then died on the way to the emergency vet. For weeks, I couldn’t imagine writing about it. It was just too sad. Because even though he was very old (17, we think) and deaf and probably ready to go, we were bereft when

Plastic great white sharks? Check. Firepit? Check. Humans to roast? Check.
I had everything I needed to organize my table Tuesday for the Orange County Fair’s annual table-setting contest, except the most crucial item: a ruler.
You see, you need a ruler when you move in your table-setting exhibit so you can precisely measur

The OC Fair opens today, and thousands of people will be lining up to hit the midway, eat some funnel cakes, coo at piglets and pet a cow.
But better put a padlock on that wallet, because the fair will suck money out of you faster than the entire Kardashian family’s fashion line.
I’m here to tell you that you can enjo

I ate his Kurobuta pig head, carnitas-style with warm tortillas and assorted sauces. The experience was a combination of sublime enjoyment and suppressed jitters, an off-the-beaten path encounter that made me perch on the edge of my seat.
Jeffrey Boullt isn’t menu timid. The executive chef at SOCIAL, a new-American restaurant in Co

It takes a special kind of person to wake up early enough to cook breakfast every day.
While I love breakfast, I must admit I’m not much of a morning person. Nevertheless, I’ve found myself setting the alarm much earlier than usual lately, inspired by a crop of new restaurants that serve only breakfast and lunch. Some of thes

Warning: This week’s column isn’t funny, so if you’re looking for a laugh, maybe you should turn to the comics and come back next week.
I want to talk about an issue facing my children, and thousands of other adopted kids when they hit their teenage years--the feeling that their birth parents abandoned them, in some cas

A 30-seat Chinese restaurant has occupied this low-key strip mall in Laguna Hills for more than a decade, but it changed owners – and name – late last year. Although the lackluster interior looks much the same, and the sign above the door reads Wok & Grill, the name is now actually Wok & Dumpling, and the new owners have comp

The croque-monsieur doesn’t typically get much respect.
It is, after all, merely a grilled ham and cheese sandwich. But when it’s prepared correctly, it becomes so much more than that. The croque-monsieur at Bistro Papillote is a perfect example.
Never in the long history of sandwich-making has there been a better arg

“I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding generations, as the great anniversary festival,” John Adams once wrote of our nation’s birthday. “It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shews, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other fro

The allure of piquillo peppers is more than just their bright red color and sweet, seductive flavor. Fire-roasted, peeled, seeded and packed in jars or cans, the mild Spanish chilies are convenient ready-to-use wonders. No spicier than a bell pepper, they measure about 2-3 inches from shoulder to tip.
In tapas bars throughout Spain they

Bless their little cake-mix hearts. Betty Crocker. Duncan Hines. Pillsbury.
Inside their boxes, the cake-mix makers are giving us less. They used to be 18.25 ounces. Now they weigh in between 15.2 and 16.5 ounces. The price isn’t less, just the amount.
Why the sarcastic griping? For years I’ve relied on quick-to-prepa